Watercolours with Confidence: Glass and Reflections

Explore artist quality paints from brands like Winzer Newton, Daniel Smith, DaVinci, and Holbein, noting packaging and tube sizes, and experiment with available colors to find what you like.

Choose absorbent brushes; natural hair holds more water and requires less reloading, while synthetic brushes are stiffer and crisper; mix natural hair, synthetic, and hacky brushes for handling large washes.

Choose high-quality watercolor paper like Arches 140 lb (300 gsm) or higher, cold press, 100% cotton, and rip sheets to size to master wet-in-wet and layering techniques.

Create a wet-paper graded wash using spring green and green-blue tones, building a light-to-dark background with feathering and gravity. Manage water to avoid puddles and blossoms.

Explore the dry on dry watercolor technique to create crisp twig lines and a transparent glass heart illusion, using thicker paint, dry paper, layered shadows, and subtle refraction.

Learn two blending techniques for watercolor: apply pigment to dry paper and pull water beneath for a soft edge; or wet the area first for a softer look.

Lift masking fluid gently with a masking tool remover to reveal the highlights, ensuring the paper is dry and avoiding scrubbing or tearing.

Photograph glass objects using strong natural light, especially morning golden light from east-facing windows, vary perspectives, and explore table shadows and background reflections to reveal intriguing shapes.

Explore core concepts and art terms, with a downloadable list in resources. See how these terms overlap with other courses and apply the core concepts to the transparent glass project.

Explore value as the driver of depth and drama in watercolor, using value scales, value maps, and black-and-white references to simplify scenes and preserve highlights.

Learn that colors have a natural value on a value scale, with orange, green, and purple at specific levels, and use inversions, strips, and iPhone photos to judge value.

Explore how transparency and layering alter value in watercolor. Keep layers thin and dry, and use a soft brush to prevent lifting while colors darken on overlap.

Learn to turn a light-blue circle into a three-dimensional sphere by watercolor shading, using masking and wet-on-wet layering to build local color, cast shadows, and reflected light.

Apply a light version of background color to the object to depict reflected light beneath the shadow, feathering the edge to soften transitions and harmonize the form with the background.

Paint the whole shape with four premixed colors as the local color, including the shadow, using wet-on-wet to build value, with red and green as complementary hues.

Refine glass and reflections in watercolor by layering thick paint, controlling water, and sharpening shadow edges to create subtle reflected light and crisp, dimensional forms.

Explore local color as the main color of an object, using a blue bottle as an example, then layer colors to build shapes before a unifying wash.

Master a yellow underpainting to vary value and create glassy reflections, managing water on each area and blending transparent yellow with blue for subtle greens.

Practice building deep glass reflections with a dark purple wash, using strategic water application and layered hard and soft edges to sculpt form, light, and detail.

Apply a warm wash of Canaccord on sienna with water to blend shadows and colors across the piece, avoiding the bottle cap and damp areas, then let it dry.

Learn to paint a glassy wood tabletop using wet-in-wet techniques, blending permanent rose with greens, layering pinks and blues, and creating depth and reflections.

Intensify blue shadows on the bottle by wetting the shadow, applying Miss Windsor Blue, and feathering the color while tilting the paper for soft edges and a crisp front edge.

Remove masking fluid from multiple layers to reveal final details and color pops in a glass and reflections watercolor painting, highlighting the benefits of layering masking fluid.

Explore turquoise as an opaque accent to define shapes, add subtle pops, and balance with bright, transparent colors while refining highlights with lilac and careful layering.

Darken the shadow area with Winzer Blue to deepen and cool the edges, creating distance from the bottle, while softly transitioning with controlled water for a center glow.

Experiment with water on the brush to lift and blend colors, softening transitions on a glass bottle while reinforcing contour edges and turning the form with light reflections.

Follow the artist’s process from blue bottle reference photos to a value study and a transferable template on watercolor paper, mapping lights, sparkles, and landmarks.

Mask out areas with masking fluid to preserve whites and create a barrier between paint and paper. Vary shapes and sizes for interest, and avoid hard lines for soft transitions.

Underpaint the front bottle with a faint blue wash using Windsor blue and ultramarine, mix with gum arabic, and build crisp, transparent layers to emphasize glass.

Advance the underpainting of a rear bottle in watercolor, using ultramarine blue and purple to shape light and shadow, test colors, and build the glass and reflection.

Reinforce the background layer with controlled water washes to create a smooth, blended backdrop. Use edges and brushes to deepen color, avoid blooms, and keep bottle edges crisp.

Darken the area behind the bottle to deepen the table illusion, layering purple and Winzer Blue with soft water transitions, then reinforce the shadow through dry brushing.

Refine glass and reflections with watercolor by layering, masking removal, and precise edge control to build depth, drama, and crisp highlights on front bottles and table shadows via careful glazing.

Apply a very thin Windsor blue glaze to the front bottle to unify colors while preserving underlying detail. Use a gentle, generous wash and lift overruns with a clean towel.

Learn how to create a unifying wash to blend colors on a bottle, using extra water to soften edges and a touch of purple and ultramarine blue.

Apply manganese blue to highlight edges to smooth them and separate the bottles. Use dry-on-wet techniques and glaze to refine edges, shift bottle shapes, and enhance reflections.